The Daily OrangeDisney stars must play the innocent child star role for audiences
By Stacie Foster
Posted: 11/9/09, 11:59 PM EST Section: Feature
For an aspiring celebrity, getting backed by Disney is like hitting a gold mine. Fame, notoriety and success are just a part of the "Mouseketeer" package. Also part of that package is an extremely high set of standards these stars are expected to uphold.
To give Disney some credit, they're not asking much. Wear clothes, avoid the bottle, refrain from publicly embarrassing yourself, make a singing debut and fame will take off from there. Sounds pretty reasonable to me, but ask Shia Labeouf after his stint of public drunkenness and he might disagree.
From Cody Linley to Miley Cyrus, all Disney starlets have experienced their own media crises - some larger than others.
Vanessa Hudgens' 2007 photo scandal not only hurt her reputation as an entertainer, but also created massive turmoil for Disney's "High School Musical 2" publicity tour. The movie debuted just two days after the photos leaked, and parents were up in arms that nude pictures of their children's hero were spreading across the Web.
Rumors circulated that Hudgens was fired, but in the end Disney couldn't say goodbye to the cash cow that is the "High School Musical" brand: Hudgens constituted a huge part of that brand.
This brings Disney to a serious dilemma. Stars-gone-bad are simply terrors for the Disney image, but they're also the faces that make the properties relatable. What's "Hannah Montana" without Miley Cyrus? "That's so Raven" without Raven herself? It just doesn't work. So, Disney hires some really good public relations agents and the show goes on.
Cyrus is the worst case of all. There just aren't enough good public relations experts out there to clean up this girl's image. She's danced on stripper poles, posed topless for Vanity Fair and flipped off the paparazzi more times than I can count. This girl is a disaster for the Mouse House.
So, Disney executives take action, not by halting the Montana bandwagon - that would be a financial anomaly - but rather by honing a new version of Miley: Selena Gomez. Gomez is now starring in her own Disney Channel show, "Wizards of Waverly Place," and is the first UNICEF ambassador to be on Disney's payroll.
To give Disney some credit, they're not asking much. Wear clothes, avoid the bottle, refrain from publicly embarrassing yourself, make a singing debut and fame will take off from there. Sounds pretty reasonable to me, but ask Shia Labeouf after his stint of public drunkenness and he might disagree.
From Cody Linley to Miley Cyrus, all Disney starlets have experienced their own media crises - some larger than others.
Vanessa Hudgens' 2007 photo scandal not only hurt her reputation as an entertainer, but also created massive turmoil for Disney's "High School Musical 2" publicity tour. The movie debuted just two days after the photos leaked, and parents were up in arms that nude pictures of their children's hero were spreading across the Web.
Rumors circulated that Hudgens was fired, but in the end Disney couldn't say goodbye to the cash cow that is the "High School Musical" brand: Hudgens constituted a huge part of that brand.
This brings Disney to a serious dilemma. Stars-gone-bad are simply terrors for the Disney image, but they're also the faces that make the properties relatable. What's "Hannah Montana" without Miley Cyrus? "That's so Raven" without Raven herself? It just doesn't work. So, Disney hires some really good public relations agents and the show goes on.
Cyrus is the worst case of all. There just aren't enough good public relations experts out there to clean up this girl's image. She's danced on stripper poles, posed topless for Vanity Fair and flipped off the paparazzi more times than I can count. This girl is a disaster for the Mouse House.
So, Disney executives take action, not by halting the Montana bandwagon - that would be a financial anomaly - but rather by honing a new version of Miley: Selena Gomez. Gomez is now starring in her own Disney Channel show, "Wizards of Waverly Place," and is the first UNICEF ambassador to be on Disney's payroll.
Viewing Comments 1 - 4 of 4
Abbi
posted 11/10/09 @ 11:23 AM EST
I love how you say that Miley is the worst of ALL of the Disney stars when Vanessa Hudgens was completely naked!! Miley showed her BACK (OMG) in the Vanity Fair pics that is all & of you want to blame someone for that where were her handlers then? Also Vanessa Hudgens pics were all over the internet, Miley's were in a Magazine for adults. (Continued…)
A
posted 11/10/09 @ 2:37 PM EST
Honestly? They're all kids. And when you are a kid you do stupid things. Being in the heart of things in L.A where a 13 year old dresses up and puts eye liner and makeup like she's in her mid twenties doesn't help. (Continued…)
Megan
posted 11/10/09 @ 3:00 PM EST
To Abbi - So you are saying it is okay for a child to be almost naked for adults. That is nasty. At least Vanessa was sending them to her boyfriend. I googled it. (Continued…)
drew
posted 11/10/09 @ 3:08 PM EST
Stacie Stacie Stacie... oyu can't even spell their names right. It's Dylan, and it's Lovato... all Disney kids are awsome, unlike a retarded damsel in distress like you who is obsessed with little kids. (Continued…)
Post a Comment